Nick Foligno and the Senators will make 19 regular-season appearances on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada this season, with another 10 Ottawa games slated to be televised by TSN in 2011-12 (Getty Images).

The television picture has begun to come into focus for the Ottawa Senators.

With the release of national TV schedules by the National Hockey League this afternoon, Sens Army fans can start setting their personal video recorders for at least some of the dates on the team's schedule for the 2011-12 season.

Today's news included the unveiling of game coverage plans for CBC's Hockey Night in Canada, TSN and TSN2, along with NBC, Versus and the NHL Network in the U.S. French-language broadcaster RDS hasn't revealed any details beyond the 82 Montreal Canadiens telecasts it will offer in the season ahead which, of course, includes all six matchups against the Senators.

The venerable Hockey Night in Canada has 19 appearances in store for Senators fans, starting with the Oct. 8 matchup in Toronto against the Maple Leafs on the first Saturday of the NHL schedule. All but one of Ottawa games on HNIC are Saturday affairs, with four of them being matinee telecasts. The highlight is the Edmonton Oilers' visit to Scotiabank Place on Feb. 11 as part of Hockey Day in Canada, which will include four games and seven Canadian teams with the return of the Winnipeg Jets to the league.

Besides that 2 p.m. telecast in Ottawa, other Saturday afternoon telecasts including the Senators include their visits to the New York Rangers (Oct. 29, 3 p.m.), Philadelphia Flyers (March 31, 1 p.m.) and the New Jersey Devils (April 7, 3 p.m.) in their regular-season finale.

Also part of the CBC schedule is the pre-season Kraft Hockeyville matchup between the Senators and Jets at Mile One Centre in St. John's. That's a 4 p.m. ET puck drop on Monday, Sept. 26.

Another CBC schedule highlight: back-to-back telecasts on March 16 and 17, when the Montreal Canadiens and the Leafs appear on consecutive nights at Scotiabank Place for the first time. The Habs game is on a Friday night, the lone Sens CBC game not on a Saturday.

CBC is also the home for 2012 NHL All-Star Weekend activity on Jan. 28-29, which will emanate from Scotiabank Place for the first time.

TSN, meanwhile, has 10 Senators dates on its 151-game schedule announced today, while also includes 74 broadcast windows on TSN2. Of the 77 games on TSN, all but four will include at least one Canadian team.

The Ottawa appearances, all on TSN, include five Wednesday telecasts, four Tuesdays and one Friday, when the Chicago Blackhawks visit Scotiabank Place on March 2. Seven of the TSN telecasts are Ottawa home games.

For Senators fans, the biggest highlight figures to be the visit of Dany Heatley and the Minnesota Wild to Scotiabank Place for Ottawa's 2011-12 home-opener on Oct. 11. It is also the launch of 20th anniversary celebrations for the Senators organization.

Here's the complete slate of Senators games on CBC and TSN:


Monday, Sept. 26 — vs. Winnipeg, at St. John's, 4 p.m. (pre-season)
Saturday, Oct. 8 — at Toronto, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 15 — at Washington, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 22 — vs. Columbus, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 29 — at N.Y. Rangers, 3 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 5 — vs. Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 12 — at Toronto, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 3 — at Washington, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 10 — vs. Vancouver, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 31 — at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 14 — at Montreal, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 4 — vs. Toronto, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 11 — vs. Edmonton (Hockey Day in Canada), 2 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 25 — vs. Boston, 7 p.m.
Saturday, March 10 — vs. Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Friday, March 16 — vs. Montreal, 7 p.m.
Saturday, March 17 — vs. Toronto, 7 p.m.
Saturday, March 24 — vs. Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
Saturday, March 31 — at Philadelphia, 1 p.m.
Saturday, April 7 — at New Jersey, 3 p.m.

Tuesday, Oct. 11 — vs. Minnesota (home opener), 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 25 — at Carolina, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 1 — at Boston, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 9 — vs. NY Rangers, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 7 — vs. Washington, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 14 — vs. Boston, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 20 — vs. Buffalo, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 22 — vs. Washington, 7 p.m.
Friday, March 2 — vs. Chicago, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, March 14 — at Montreal, 7:30 p.m.

B-Sens open Calder Cup title defence Oct. 7 against Hershey

The Binghamton Senators, in conjunction with their American Hockey League, unveiled their 2011-12 schedule today. And for the first time, they'll enter the season as Calder Cup defending champions.

Binghamton's title defence officially kicks off on Oct. 7, when the Hershey Bears visit Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena in New York state's Southern Tier. Then the Toronto Marlies are in Binghamton the following night to close out the B-Sens' opening weekend.

To view the complete 2011-12 B-Sens schedule, click here.